Category: STAFF DEVELOPMENT

What Can I Learn in One Minute That Will Be Useful for Life?

How you ever used checklists to improve your learning … or perhaps your positive mental attitude? Are they sometimes useful for life?
useful for life
Let it be useful for life.
How well did they work for you? Do they refresh your thinking on important life success lessons?
We often use checklists to achieve our goal to create the attitude that can see opportunity in every difficulty.
After college, I spent almost two years training as a naval aviator. An important element of that training was the use of checklists in the learning and refresher process. Checklist utilization remains an important part of my life, both in the personal as well as a business realm.
It took me 31 years of living to learn the most important character trait:
The good news is that you can learn this in one minute.
I’ve summarized my life experiences into main points: the single most important character traits for you to develop.
 

Useful for life … perseverance leads to mastery.

A sustained effort over time will typically lead to mastery.
When I first started writing, a few of my friends laughed at my books. Rightfully so. It was full of typos, had terrible grammar and pretty mundane content. None of it was spectacular.
The perfect word to describe it: Mediocre.
And the book sales reflected that.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll see that my writing has been published in Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, Inc. and The Huffington Post.
People will often ask, “How did you manage to get published?”
The answer is simple: Perseverance.
I spent two years writing six books, 18 Quora posts, and 30 editorial pitches before I got published by a major media site.
Even after this momentum, the website I just launched was slow in gaining subscribers. For example, in about two months I had only signed up to 520 subscribers. However, after those two months of churning out weekly articles, last night I had a breakthrough of 64 subscribers in just one night!
Over time my writing has improved dramatically. My writing volume has also increased. It used to take me a few days to write an article. Now I can write a short article in an hour, and the quality is better.
This all happened because I stayed the course.
So when in doubt, always remember: persevere.
 

A useful life example.

Makes you mentally stronger

I’ve failed a lot.
One of my first jobs, when I was in high school, was working as a salesperson at a tuxedo shop. A few months in, I missed one of my shifts and was fired. I was really upset with myself.
I once tried to be a professional actor and met with an agent. She told me to find another career.
I once tried to be a professional writer. My first book was called “Push.” I think I sold a few Kindle copies. Mostly to family and friends. It was a long time ago.
Know what happened? I bounced back. For example, I ended up writing a second book called “The Resume is Dead.” It has over 40,000 Kindle downloads and hit #1 in the Resumes category.
I guess I could have quit writing. But why do that when it’s my passion? Better to learn from my mistakes and to keep improving.
Each of these experiences helped to shape me into who I am today.
Don’t spend time regretting your past. Do focus your energy on pushing forward.
 

Useful for life … teaches patience

Success isn’t built overnight. It’s built over many nights. Sometimes years. That’s why you’ve got to be patient. Let it be useful for life.
This doesn’t mean you don’t create and build with passion and intensity. You want that. But if you don’t have patience, you might end up giving up at a time when you’re just inches from success.
If you see meaningful progress and continued improvement, then it may make sense to continue to persevere.
When I first started writing the “The Resume is Dead,” I thought it would take a few months to finish it from beginning to end.
It took me an entire year. But despite all the times I got writer’s block or got a huge headache from proofreading the book, I never quit.
It’s the book I’m most proud of. And it was worth every minute.
Creating something worthwhile isn’t easy. Be patient.
I keep a stack of 10 or so checklists that I rotate and update occasionally. This is one of them, even though I am a retiree (at least part of the timeJ).  I pull out one checklist to read and contemplate for five minutes as a way to start each day. I find it puts my thinking in the right frame of mind.
Here is a checklist of 10 of my favorite life lessons reminders I have found to improve the odds of long-term success. They are based on lessons I have learned along the road of 40 years of experience:

 

Focusing on value-add

In everything we do, we should focus on adding value. Gear efforts to results rather than work. Begin with the question, “What results are expected of me?” rather than with the work to be done, let alone with its techniques and tools.

 

Customer-centric focus

 Focusing on the customer makes us more resilient.
What I have found is: start with the customer and work backward. This experience comes from my training and experience in systems engineering.
When you work from the end, you start with the customer and their needs and problems. This is the opposite of what some people do, which is: they think up ideas, build a product, and then see if customers like it.

 

 

Develop a vision

Vision. We are always fascinated by this skill. And it is a great skill to have in our view. Does it mean you see everything? Certainly not. It does mean you can see what many cannot. And then act on these. Vision doesn’t count without action. And not without managing the needed action required to implement.
That idea of staying the course for the long term has been the key to success. Vision requires the long term. Be stubborn on vision and have flexibility on details.

 

  

Making and executing effective decisions

 Results most often depend on making effective decisions. I learned that an effective decision is always a “judgment based on dissenting opinions rather than on a consensus of the facts.”
What is needed are few, but fundamental decisions. What is needed is the right strategy rather than razzle-dazzle tactics. Act on the strategy and pay attention to follow-through.

 

 

Innovation

Learning from others is always important to me. For example, I have learned innovation from Amazon. They have one of the very best innovation cultures in an industry built around constant innovation and change. Why may you ask?
We believe there several good reasons. First, as one of the creators of the e-commerce industry, they know the industry is in its infancy and is built on a foundation of new technology and constant introduction of new ways of doing things.
Business is all about capturing intellect from every person. The way to engender this intellect is to allow employees far more freedom and far more responsibility.

 

 

Experiment and change

Remember, change and innovate, BEFORE you have to. Change is a big part of the reality in business. New ideas are the lifeblood of business. And the basis for creative change.
Your life will be in constant change mode, and that is a good thing if you lead change in the direction of your success goals. To do that most successfully, you should try lots of new things continually. For things you like, get very good at them with lots of practice. But keep trying new activities.
I love this quote from Jeff Bezos:
useful life formula
Pick a useful life formula.
 If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you’re going to double your inventiveness.
If you ask the best business leaders, they’ll tell you that experimentation is imperative for their business. It’s how innovations are born and how they stay competitive in the market. Experimentation is everywhere and is always happening.
  

Your career is not your life

This was probably the most difficult of my lessons, particularly early to mid-career.  To be successful in this lesson, you should develop breath to your list of activities and always put family and friends first. To do both well, think about activities that maximize your friends and family, like coaching your children’s sports teams.
 

 

 Dedicate yourself to continuous learning

 I am a big believer in continuous learning. You should always seek to be flexible and keep several alternative paths in front of you. Always be on the lookout for ways to reinvent ways for self-improvement. Our most favored quote on continuous learning comes from Charles Darwin:
  
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
 
Remember to substitute success for survival, and you will have a very valuable life lesson on continuous learning.
  

 

Grow kindness

 All of these life lessons get better when you have a strong foundation in knowing how to be kind to others. I have never found a better way to stay happy. Kindness costs you nothing, and you’d be surprised how much it can do for your happiness.

  

 

Find something to make you laugh

Another important factor in your happiness is enjoying a good laugh as often as you can. Making fun of yourself and your own mistakes is a great place to start.

 

 

The bottom line

 

As you progress in your continuous learning and development, keep in mind growth is a long-term, not a short-term endeavor. In reality, it should never end. It should be pursued consistently throughout your career, day by day.
To find good life lesson experiences, you have to try many avenues … and experience some failures along the way. I have learned this lesson well.

 

build value proposition
Does your business have a winning value proposition?
 Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
 
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
9 Things to Know About Creative Visual Design Content
8 Presenter Mistakes That Are Rarely Made Twice
Know These Great Secrets of Collaboration and Co-Creation
How Good Is Your Learning from Failure?
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

 

 

 

Is Learning a Product of Teaching?

Are you one that believes learning is a product of teaching? What about whether schools and education administrators understand the problem they are trying to solve? Are you familiar with the subject of standardized testing in our public schools? It’s not that they can’t find the solution … they can’t find the problem.

All of these questions are certainly an interest of mine, though I have never been in the education profession. I like to follow the subjects of learning and standardized testing and the writings of Marion Brady. I am a big fan of the thinking of Marion Brady. Ever read any of his books or articles?

He is a longtime teacher; school administrator; nationally distributed newspaper columnist; and author of courses of study, textbooks, and professional books. His most recent article published in a blog from the Washing Post is “What do standardized tests actually test?” I will use this excellent work to examine this issue.

Like most people, I believe that learning is a product of teaching.  Just not enough learning from the amount of teaching in our schools. The assumption of learning from teaching is the bedrock of traditional schooling.

As Marion states, it shapes nearly all commercially produced teaching materials. It’s how schooling is portrayed in everything media. It’s why traditionally arranged classroom furniture is in rows facing front, why most teachers talk a lot, assign pages in textbooks, ask questions about what’s been said and read. It’s the conventional process and teaching wisdom. Sad, but very true.

Teachers teach, learners learn, and standardized tests monitor how well the process is going. The tests measure a quantity—the amount of information taught, minus the amount not learned or learned and forgotten. A single, precise number is convenient for sorting and labeling the learning results. Something that the education industry feels is the only way to measure progress.

Simple and straightforward. Right?

But hold on for a minute. There’s an ancient Chinese quotation (from Confucius I believe) which, loosely translated, says,

Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.

As Brady points out, there are three very different approaches to teaching—telling, showing, and involving. The first two lend themselves to standardized testing. The third one—the only one that really works—doesn’t. It says that what needs to be evaluated are the outcomes of personal experience, and personal experience is very likely to be too individual, too idiosyncratic, too much a product of a teachable moment, for its outcome to be evaluated by machine-scored standardized test items.

Involved learners don’t just read about geology; they’re outside, identifying, examining, and classifying, the rocks and earth around the school and other interesting places. Involved learners aren’t filling out worksheets about geometric principles; they’re determining the height of the school’s flagpole by measuring angles and lengths of shadows … by active learning.

Here is the key to Brady’s article, in my opinion. What mattered most wasn’t what he said but what kids did. When he drew that radical conclusion, he states he began a search that continues, a search for experience-creating activities:

So interesting

the teacher can leave the room and nobody notices

So useful

the activity’s relevance is self-evident

So complex

the smartest kid in the class is intellectually challenged

So real-world

perceptions of who’s smartest constantly shift

So theoretically sound

the systemically integrated nature of all knowledge is obvious

So wide-ranging

the activities cover the core curriculum (and much more)

So varied

every critical thinking skill is exercised

So scalable

concepts developed on a micro-level adequately model macro phenomena

So effective

when the activities themselves are forgotten, their benefits are fixed permanently in memory

Idealistic? Not in my mind. Perhaps I would call it a great dream. And why not?

As Brady states, if we can stop the standardized testing bandwagon, teachers can pick up where they left off before they were rudely interrupted—trying to figure out how kids learn best. What a novel idea.

In that situation, we will come away from this reform era having learned two useful  lessons:

First, one is that no machine can measure the quality of complex, emotion-filtered, experience-based learning.

And second, if you’re testing the wrong thing, there’s no reason to keep score.

Thank you Marion Brady for not giving up and for keeping the dream alive.

Leadership Personal Accountability: How to Develop This Essential Trait

Mike Krzyzewski once said: Leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated. Coach Krzyzewski, the longtime Duke basketball coach, knows a few things about building good leaders to increase influence, don’t you think? Wonder what would be the leadership qualities on his list to increase the leadership personal accountability?  Certainly reliability and consistency.

leadership personal accountability
Personal accountability.

Check out our thoughts on team leverage
We believe it could be a long list. If you asked the top 10 business leaders for their top 5-10 good leadership qualities, there may be 20-30 unique answers.  We will share our top 8 qualities that we use in our leadership personal accountability workshops. And why we believe they belong on the list.
Related: Building Collaboration and Sharing Skills in your Staff
Let’s get started, shall we?

personal accountability in life
Personal accountability in life.

Humble

Our number one leadership quality hot button? Ego. We have a hard time with big ego leaders. That is why the top quality on our list to increase influence is being humble. Above all. Lead quietly but confidently, share credit, and find ways to serve others. Be approachable and drive out fear by allowing people to contribute, experiment, and develop their strengths.

 

Leadership personal accountability and collaboration

Collaborative leaders allow people to share responsibility and combine the knowledge, creativity, and experience of others. They are able to produce synergistic, as well as, creative win-win solutions.

 

 

Increase influence with passion

Leaders with conviction possess a passionate determination to achieve team plans and goals. Their intense drive, focus, and persistence create the ability to succeed at everything they set their minds to.

 

personal accountability in the workplace.
Personal accountability in the workplace.

Courage

Courageous leaders have a proactive relationship with the environment surrounding them. They act in anticipation and avoid reactive behavior whenever possible. They seek out information and stay informed of potential risks. Nonetheless, they are willing to face challenges head-on.

 

 

Accountable

Leaders who are accountable for their decisions, behaviors, and actions take ownership of the choices they make. They don’t dodge responsibility when the results are not good.

 

 

Leadership personal accountability … trustworthy

Trustworthy leaders are consistent with their words and actions. Trust is built over time. It is developed by actively listening, acting as a resource, empowering others, being responsive, and recognizing accomplishments. Even the small successes.

 

 

Aligned

Aligned leaders always take an interest in anything that affects the productivity and welfare of the team. It means moving beyond your own personal agenda and fully supporting the implementation of the team’s agenda.

 

 

Communication

Leaders who communicate most effectively with others use their skill to gain a better understanding of those around them. This builds trust, allows them to better align goals and actions, plan and execute strategies, and ultimately improve their odds of success.
Great employees are the most important discriminator in the success of any business.  As leaders, we need to ensure that we are creating an environment where employees feel valued and know they are making a contribution to the business.
Our leadership qualities play a critical role in this regard.
content writer
What about your abilities to increase influence of your leadership? Shape the future?  What key experiences can you share with this community?
Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff’s leadership, teamwork and collaboration? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a team or leadership workshop?
 
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy innovating your social media strategyg?
Do you have a lesson about making your advertising better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Leadership Characteristics that Improve Influence
10 Leadership Competencies You Should Not Live Without
How to Create the Best Leadership Accountability
The Zen of Abraham Lincolns Leadersip Lessons
  
Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.
 

 

Advice for the Younger Generation

Do you often look back at your life and wonder what the most important things you learned were? That certainly is something I reflect on more as I grow older. This post will offer advice for the younger generation.

After 45 years and three careers, I am still learning but reflecting more on what I learn.

So, with this in mind, here are some lessons that I would select and continue to develop if I had the chance to do it all over again:

Think different

Try and explore new ideas without bringing your old ideas along for the ride. Never reject ideas just because you will not agree with them. Examine and study thoughts before setting them aside. Stand out to be heard.

Have fun

put fun into everything
Do you put fun into everything?

Remember your learning won’t all come from your books and professors. You will constantly need to remind yourself about the importance of having a good balance in your life.

Learn how to learn

Note, in all likelihood, most of you have not mastered this one yet. And when you think you have it down, new technology will come along to add access to more information. Nonetheless, you will spend your life on this one, so you might as well start as soon as possible.

Practice the art of asking good questions

I know, I know, you thought the tough act was getting the answers nailed. Yes, that is difficult. But asking really good questions is more important. It starts with being a good listener.

critical thinking questions
Employ critical thinking questions.

Be curious about everything

This is where good questions are needed. This is also a key source for your learning.

Don’t fear failure

Everyone who has ever accomplished things in life has had many failures along the way. The key is how you learn from the failure to keep moving forward.

Eliminate your bad habits: Bad Habits … 14 That Can Get in the Way of Success

Be a never-ending reader

converts readers into buyers
Ones that convert readers into buyers.

A reader of lots of new things … always trying something new. Get your mind exploring; reading will be an important source of your lifetime learning.

Develop a strong imagination

Dream often (yes even daydream … they are the best kind of dreams). Dreams will help you find what you love.

Wear your enthusiasm and passion

Show how you feel. Your attitude and emotions are the first signs to others of who you are and how you are made.

Successful Career: 18 Effective Steps To Supercharge Yours

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. Good idea Pablo Picasso. I spent 38 + years in my career in management and leadership of employees very interested in a successful career.
This included coaching, mentoring, and assisting in employee development plans.  My ultimate goal was to build future leaders who could take over my job. And replacing me did happen on many occasions over those years.

successful career
Desire a successful career?

Check out our thoughts on team leverage.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a famous French writer, once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Achieving career success requires more than luck, more than hard work — it requires a plan. And the great part is that your plan doesn’t have to be difficult to create or complex.
Here is my (simple) advice for creating your very own career development plan:
When it comes to improving career success, here are my 18 ways to build the best opportunities for success in a corporate career.
 

‘Stand for’ principles

Stand for something that has significant meaning for you and use it as your growth mantra. Grow but don’t waiver in it.

Successful career … belief relevance

Make sure what you stand for is relevant to what’s going on right now and will be relevant in the future as well. Keep it in your headlights consistently.

continuous learning
Employ continuous learning.

Continuous learning

Know what your skills are and what they are not. Keep adding to it all the time – with both your own development and surrounding yourself with others who complement your talents.
Remember to focus on your strengths and set your weaknesses aside.
Related post: 10 Extraordinary Ways for Learning to Learn

Successful career planning … know lessons learned

Become recognized as a corporate historian, remembering what’s been done, what’s worked and hasn’t and why, where ALL the bodies are buried, and who was responsible for putting the bodies where they were buried.
Avoid relearning old mistakes.

Be low maintenance

Make sure you are low maintenance and represent minimal overhead. Know what tasks to take on and which ones to avoid.
This will create more value to be freed up and let you do more valuable things.

Successful career … have a vision

Invest time to imagine what the future is going to look like and how you’ll need to adapt to fit into it. Remember though, vision without action is a daydream.
No matter how big your plans and dreams, they’ll never become reality until you act on them.

Positive attitude
A positive attitude is critical.

 

Maintain a positive attitude

Learn what attitude is, what aspects of your life are controlled or directed by your attitude, and how to determine your attitude at any given moment.
Know what specific strategies make a positive attitude a permanent habit in your life.

Use initiative

Always be on the lookout for actions that have been overlooked and show initiative to get them done.

Strong relationships

Build beneficial relationships with many people. Networking and making friends is the name of the game.

Focus on results

Deliver objectively unmistakable value that transcends opinion.
This should be your number one priority.

Know when to change

Always know where a door is and what situations will make you want or need to use it.

 

Develop lots of self-confidence

Understand the nature of human potential through a simple process of identifying your personal talents and abilities.
Remember to develop strengths and personal interests to create fulfillment and economic opportunities for your future.

 

Build solid habits

Understand the process of how habits are created.
Learn to identify and remove self-defeating habits and create habits that will make all aspects of your life easier and more successful.

 

 Try one new thing at least weekly

 Your life will be in constant change mode, and that is a good thing if you lead change in direction of your success goals.
To do that most successfully, you should try lots of new things continually.
For things you like, get very good at them from lots of practice. But keep trying new activities.

  

Practice new skills

 One of my most favorite quotations about aim and goals is one from Michelangelo:
  The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.
 Michelangelo knew a thing or two about high aim and goals didn’t he?
Need we say anything more?

  

Successful career … set goals

Recognize the difference between a wish and a goal.
Make a commitment, plan and take action, and recognize completion.

 

Put creative imagination to work

Extend your physical ability to accelerate creative problem solving and goal achievement in all areas of your life.

 

Be persistent

Develop the focus and determination required to succeed.
Create an attitude of gratitude as the access to fulfilling your dreams.
Those are eighteen career success principles I tried to follow in my career development and use with my employees.
Not all apply in every situation, but if followed, they will not lead you astray.

  

Key takeaways

 As you progress in your continuous learning and development, keep in mind growth is a long-term, not a short-term endeavor.
In reality, it should never end. It should be pursued consistently throughout your career, day by day.
Don’t settle for less than you know you can achieve.
And remember; keep your happiness and a balance of work and life at the top of your list. Everything will pivot around them.

  

Digital Spark Marketing
Digital Spark Marketing’s Firestorm Blog

Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff ’s teamwork, collaboration, and learning? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a teamwork or continuous learning workshop?
 
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.  
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to continually improving your continuous learning?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  

More reading on learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

 

Good Leader: 17 Leadership Lessons from 40 Years of Experience

I have many leadership lessons learned in my years in the military (6 years) and business (35 years). Being a good leader is a lifelong learning process. You are never done learning. Every good leader always looks for ways to improve the ability to improve their leadership qualities and attributes. Lessons learned are a great source of learning.

good leader
Good leader.

 

Before I tell you what I have learned about leadership, let me first tell you a story. It is a story about a scorpion and a frog.

 

Once upon a time a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.

 

The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn’t see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

 


Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

 

“Hellooo Mr. Frog!” called the scorpion across the water, “Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?”

 

“Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you won’t try to kill me?” asked the frog hesitantly.

 

“Because,” the scorpion replied, “If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!”

 

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. “What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!”

 


“This is true,” agreed the scorpion, “But then I wouldn’t be able to get to the other side of the river!”

 

“Alright then…how do I know you won’t just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?” said the frog.

 

“Ahh…,” crooned the scorpion, “Because you see, once you’ve taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!”

 

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog’s back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog’s soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

 

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting on his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog’s back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

 

“You fool!” croaked the frog, “Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?”

 

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog’s back. “I could not help myself. It is my nature.”

 

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river…

Well, I guess scorpions are going to be scorpions.

And people are always going to act according to human nature.

We can try to fight it and resist it, but at the end of the day, people are going to be people.

And if you understand human nature, it’s going to be a lot easier for you to make it in this business.

So all leaders must understand the story of the frog and the scorpion.

 

If you read ten books on leadership, you could easily build a checklist of 50 or more leadership qualities and attributes. The following leadership lessons represent my favorites from my years. It represents those leadership lessons that I would most like to remember:

 

Good leader … put your people first

This is an important principle that is ingrained into most military officers but is sadly often lacking in civilian managers.  Mentorship is important but moreover, doing whatever you can to advance the careers of your subordinates should be one of your prime duties.

 

Leadership qualities list … not about you

Many of us want to be effective leaders … ones that can make a difference. But that doesn’t happen by talking about it or self-marketing. It takes the time to build connections, by take a genuine interest in people. In true leadership situations, listening comes first.

 

Perhaps the worst personal trait I’ve personally observed is ego. We all have an ego, but the ego I’m talking about is the ‘super-ego’ that dominates.  I’ve found if a leader is really good at what they do, they won’t have to tell others about it.

 

Humility

Leaders teach us “Don’t think too highly of yourself.” How can you improve? We are not perfect. Your success is because of many team members’ contributions. Up your leadership game with humility.

 

Leadership lesson plans
Leadership lesson plans.

 

Leadership lesson plans … passion

You only live once. Give it all you got. Be the best so no competitor can keep up. Know your passion and live it. Let it drive you to be the best in your niche.

 

Stress team and teamwork

Do what it takes to make your team more effective and productive. Make each team member focus on putting the team before themselves. Remember, whatever your role is, be a servant to the team and make your teammates better.

 

Have a grand vision

As a leader, you can inspire and motivate your team to tremendous effect by communicating a vision in a clear, straight-forward way.  But don’t think small – raise the bar high.  Shoot for a visionary type goal.  That’s different than a vision to increase the company’s market share by 10% within five years.
 

Speak appreciation

Gratitude must be a constant drum beat of your dialogue. Infuse your conversations with an appreciation of your team’s acumen and determination to improve. Learn to be thankful certainly when there’s great success, but also be thankful for what you’ve learned through the hard times because there’s great wisdom in those experiences.

 

Push and motivate people

A good leader makes sure their team members never stop looking bad until eventually, they look good because they have improved. Push them to be the best they can be. Be the best motivator you can be.

 

Provide structure but encourage improvisation

Provide structure to the team but always encourage everyone to improvise. Inspire them to do what they could not do alone. Show them by example and let other teammates help them do it; that builds a bond that lasts forever.

 

Build relationships and culture

Constantly build relationships with and between the team. It is the foundation of the culture you want to develop. Remember this: Five percent of what we do is to be sure we perform. The other ninety-five percent is to create a culture that leads to the team culture.

 

Continuous improvement and learning

If you’re not doing, you’re not learning. Everybody makes mistakes.  It’s what you do with them that count.

 

Give people opportunity to input

It has to be the team’s game plan, not just the leader’s plan. Ensure you are giving everyone an opportunity for inputs and listen carefully. Do what you can to build a team plan.

 

Adapt your leadership to team

Not all teams are the same, and each requires and responds best to its leadership qualities. Focus on becoming a good reader of the team and adapt your leadership style to what is needed.

 

Related post: Learning about Shaping the Future from these Leadership Quotes

 

Don’t let failure be fatal

Keep going.  Don’t let setbacks stop you.  Carry your lessons forward, and change your approach as required.  Don’t fear change … it is a fact of life. Failure is not fatal, but often a failure to change can be.

 

lead by example
Lead by example, like this guy.

 

Lead by example

What you do is so much more important than what you say.  As a leader, you should be the hardest worker, the most well-prepared, and the one willing to do all the things no one else wants to do.
 

Develop other leaders

Leaders are measured not just on what they achieve personally but also on what the people they mentored go on to do as leaders in their right. Take pride in people you have developed.

 

Agree to disagree, but don’t be disagreeable

It is all about maintaining a positive attitude all the time, even when times are tough. People can agree to disagree, but need to avoid being disagreeable at all costs.

 

Often leaders who do their job too well end up surrounded by a bunch of “yes-men/women”.  This can have disastrous consequences.

 

The bottom line

 

Remember this simple fact. Does leadership focus on people the best definition of a leader? Someone who helps people succeed. Let your leadership success be your difference maker.

 

brand_marketing

 

Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff’s leadership, teamwork, and collaboration? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a team or leadership workshop?

 

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

 

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

 

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

 

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

 

Are you devoting enough energy innovating your social media strategy?

 

Do you have a lesson about making your advertising better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

 

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  

 

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.

  

 

More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Leadership Characteristics that Improve Influence

10 Leadership Competencies You Should Not Live Without

Building Collaboration and Sharing Skills in your Staff

How to Create the Best Leadership Accountability

The Zen of Abraham Lincolns Leadership Lessons

 

 

Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

24 Secret Habits that Created Legendary Leadership Styles

I spent 38 + years in my career in management and leadership of employees very interested in a successful corporate career. This included coaching, mentoring, and assisting in employee development plans for a successful career.  My ultimate goal was to build employees with legendary leadership styles and influence skills.
Ones that could easily move pass me in the leadership chain. And that happened on occasions over those years.

Leadership.
Leadership.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
– Pablo Picasso
Let me tell you about the secret habits that I focused on.
Before we continue, let me ask you a question. 
What works best for your leadership in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? Be the one who starts a conversation.
 
With the advent of the Internet, the number of marketing options available to both budding and experienced entrepreneurs has become staggering.
The brain is the strongest muscle in the body. You’ve heard stories of how combat soldiers have been shot repeatedly but were not aware of it until the fight was over. These stories are true, and the power to do such things comes from the mind and can be tapped into by practicing mental preparation.
When it comes to improving career success, here are my 18 ways to build the best opportunities for success in a corporate career.
 
Are you aware of the impact of awesome habits for success and positive thinking on your personal development? But how to best build these habits and this positive attitude is another matter, isn’t it?

Maintain a positive attitude

Learn what attitude is, what aspects of your life are controlled or directed by your attitude, and how to determine your attitude at any given moment. Know what specific strategies make a positive attitude a permanent habit in your life.
You will perhaps have heard this very old story illustrating the difference between positive and negative thinking:
Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.
  
The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here – nobody wears shoes.”
  
The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here – nobody wears shoes.”
 
This simple short story provides one of the best examples of how a single situation may be viewed in two quite different ways – negatively or positively. And it is not difficult to see which one you want, eh?
 

be loyal
Do you like employees to be loyal?

Be loyal 

Team loyalty in the corporate environment seems to be a dying philosophy. Loyalty to the team starts at the top.
If it’s lacking at the senior executive level, how can anyone else in the organization embrace it?
Loyalty is about leading by example, providing your team with unconditional support, and never throwing a team member under the bus.

 

Leadership … have a vision

Invest time to imagine what the future is going to look like and how you’ll need to adapt to fit into it. Remember though, vision without action is a daydream.
No matter how big your plans and dreams, they’ll never become reality until you act on them.
  

Use initiative

Always be on the lookout for actions that have been overlooked and show initiative to get them done.

 

Put others before yourself

Get up every day and ask yourself what you will do to add value to your team, such as simply offering your assistance with a project.
The challenge is overcoming the fear that your team member might say: “Yes, I really need your help with this project…tonight.”

 

Assume you don’t know enough

Because you don’t. Any effective team member understands that training is never complete. It’s true in the SEAL teams, and it’s true for any elite team.
Those who assume they know everything should be eliminated. Those who spend time inside and outside of the workplace developing their knowledge and skills will provide the momentum for their team’s forward progress.

 

Be persistent

Develop the focus and determination required to succeed.  Create an attitude of gratitude as the access to fulfilling your dreams.
Those are eighteen career success principles I tried to follow in my career development and use with my employees. Not all apply in every situation, but if followed, they will not lead you astray.

 

Be detail-oriented

Attention to detail is one of our company’s values. Do we get it right all the time? Of course not. Imagine, though, if all members of a team are obsessed with detail in their delivery?
Don’t ask yourself what you are going to do today to be successful; ask how you are going to do it.
 

Try one new thing at least weekly

 Your life will be in constant change mode, and that is a good thing if you lead change in direction of your success goals. To do that most successfully, you should try lots of new things continually.
For things you like, get very good at them with lots of practice. But keep trying new activities.
 

Never get comfortable

Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone. If you do this continually with every task you take on, that boundary will continue to widen.
This process will ensure that you are continually maximizing your potential, which will positively impact your team.

 

strong relationships
Build strong relationships

Strong relationships

Build beneficial relationships with many people.
Networking and making friends is the name of the game.

 

 Focus on results

Deliver objectively unmistakable value that transcends opinion.
This should be your number one priority.

Continuous learning

Know what your skills are and what they are not. Keep adding to it all the time – with both your own development and surrounding yourself with others who complement your talents.
Remember to focus on your strengths and set your weaknesses aside.

 

Maintain patience

The proper timing of your words and acts will give you a big advantage over people who are impatient.
For example: Don’t click send on the email right away — breathe and reread it. The classic example would be getting irate and sending something with hostility.
Much of real happiness is a matter of being aware of what you’re doing while you’re doing it — and enraged people aren’t typically conscious of their actions.

  

Know lessons learned

Become recognized as a corporate historian, remembering what’s been done, what’s worked and hasn’t and why, where ALL the bodies are buried.
Who was responsible for putting the bodies where they were buried. Avoid relearning old mistakes.

Keep an open mind

Those who close themselves off from certain ideas and associate only with like-minded people are missing out on not only personal growth but also opportunities for advancing their careers.

  

Develop lots of self-confidence

Understand the nature of human potential through a simple process of identifying your personal talents and abilities.
Remember to develop strengths and personal interests to create fulfillment and economic opportunities for your future.

  

Put creative imagination to work

Extend your physical ability to accelerate creative problem solving and goal achievement in all areas of your life.

 

Smile often

The greatest asset a person can show is a ‘million-dollar smile’. This allows people to lower their guards during conversations with you.

 

 Listen much more than you talk

The most likable people know that it’s not worth offending people by expressing everything they know, even if they are true. Pay close attention to someone speaking to you and show interest.
Using a conversation as an opportunity to lecture someone may feed the ego, but it never attracts people or makes friends.
 

Don’t procrastinate

Procrastination communicates to people that you’re hesitant to take action. This demonstrates the worst form of fear.

 

Always keep your cool

Maintain your composure in all circumstances. Overreaction to things either positive or negative can give people a poor impression.
Always remember that silence may be much more effective than angry words.

 

Express interest in people

The most likable people use conversations as an opportunity to learn about another person and give them time to share a story.

 

Show you care

Successful people don’t pretend to be likable; they are likable because they show care for others.
Having a confidant who can be completely honest with you allows continued growth.
  

Reflect at end of every day

Most of the time, heading out of the office is the time for rehearsing everything that went wrong that day.
We recommend also reflecting on what went well. That way you’re not denying that some things went poorly, but you’re getting a richer picture of what happened.
 

 

Remember to work on all these habits … it is another great way to show people a positive mental attitude.

 share

 

Could this checklist help you start your day?
Do you have suggestions to add to the list?
 
Be sure and walk the talk on these!

 

The bottom line

 As you progress in your continuous learning and development, keep in mind growth is a long-term, not a short-term endeavor.
In reality, it should never end. It should be pursued consistently throughout your career, day by day.
Don’t settle for less than you know you can achieve.
And remember; keep your happiness and a balance of work and life at the top of your list. Everything will pivot around them.
  
Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff’s leadership, teamwork, and collaboration? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a team or leadership workshop?
 
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to innovating your social media strategy?
Do you have a lesson about making your advertising better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
  
More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Building Collaboration and Sharing Skills in your Staff
How to Create the Best Leadership Accountability
The Zen of Abraham Lincolns Leadership Lessons
 
 Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

Teamwork Skills: Grow These by Being a Talent Hound

If you want to build teamwork skills, it starts with having the best people. Creating a talent advantage begins with smart hiring. That said, it never ceases to amaze me at the number of businesses who put little energy and time into mining for talent.  Smart leaders do more than just hire teamwork skills and smart people – they have a smart hiring process and/or methodology.

Teamwork Skills
How to build Teamwork Skills.

Check out our thoughts on team leverage.
Put simply; talent matters. The problem is that very few people actually possess the talent to identify talent.
Identifying and recruiting talent requires much more than screening a resume and having a set of standard interviewing questions to guide you.
There are issues of values, vision, culture, context etc. that need to be creatively and intuitively addressed in the hiring process.
Before we continue, let me ask you a question. 
What hiring action works best in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? It would be greatly appreciated by us and our readers.
In today’s post we’ll share our philosophy on the best way to ensure that you hire tier-one talent.  We believe one of the best uses of time is to make sure that we make the best hiring decisions possible.
We use the following hiring process attributes when advising our clients:

Teamwork skills … know what you are looking for

If you can’t specifically define what you are looking for, you have little chance of finding it! This definition is both in terms of the job description and the profile of the individual most likely to be successful in that role.
If you can’t define what you’re looking for, you shouldn’t be looking.

 

Know what you are selling

You are looking for the best talent, correct? This means you are in competition, so it is essential that you are able to put your best foot forward and be able to market your strengths.
Examples of what good talent will be looking for are continuous learning, ability to grow and develop their strengths, etc. Be able to give your examples of these in a soft, non-selling manner.

Take your time

There is wisdom in the expression “hire slow and fire fast.” Don’t panic and end-up making a regrettable hire out of perceived desperation. Give yourself plenty of runways.
You’ll be much better off taking your time and making a good hire rather than using the ready, fire, aim methodology and end-up terming the new hire before they eclipse their probationary period.

 

talent search
Focus on a talent search.

Teamwork skills important … always be in Talent Search Mode

This applies even if you are not yet ready to hire. Never let your organization be put behind the talent 8-ball, as great talent is rarely available on a moment’s notice.
Some of the best hires we’ve made over the years were executives that we spent months, and in some cases, years developing relationships with.

 

Culture-Based Hiring

Culture matters … a lot more than you may believe. You can either spend time finding employees who share your organization’s values or deal with the brain damage of managing conflicts that arise due to opposing values.
Ignore culture in the hiring process and all other hiring initiatives will be diminished, if not lost altogether.

hire leaders
Look to hire leaders.

Teamwork skills important … hire Leaders

When our clients’ companies complain about a lack of leadership, or how difficult it is to identify leaders, our question is simply this:
Why didn’t you hire a leader, to begin with?  It is simple … the development of an existing leader is faster, easier, and more effective than creating a new leader.
Related material: 10 Leadership Competencies You Should Not Live Without

 

Pay for Talent

Talent has an uncanny way of attracting more talent. Know that you are paying more, but if it is the right hire, you will be paid in many ways you are not even considering.
To put it bluntly, you get what you pay for. Real talent produces real results and is worth the investment.  You cannot afford not to invest in talent.

 

Constantly Upgrade

You can hire the best talent in the world, but remember that “best” is a subjective evaluation largely measured within the context of a snapshot in time. Obsolescence can take root in anyone if growth and development are not focus points.
Development needs to occur at every echelon of the workforce – the top, middle, and bottom performance tiers.
Hiring is a blend of art and science. The reality is that those organizations that identify, recruit, deploy, develop and retain the best talent will be the companies who thrive in the marketplace.

 

create_website_design

 

Never be done with your hiring and building your team, life is a continuous learning experience for you and the team.  Team building and talent development take work and a consistent process, but you will be pleasantly surprised the impact it will make on your business and service.
 
Do you have a hiring or team building experience to share?
 
Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff’s leadership, teamwork, and collaboration? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a team or leadership workshop?
 
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to innovating your social media strategy?
Do you have a lesson about making your advertising better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
  
More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Leadership Characteristics that Improve Influence
10 Leadership Competencies You Should Not Live Without
Building Collaboration and Sharing Skills in your Staff
How to Create the Best Leadership Accountability
The Zen of Abraham Lincolns Leadership Lessons
  
Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

 

How to Become a Very Good Technical Leader

Both the right combination of technical and leadership skills are needed. Let me discuss the technical leadership skill priorities.

Being curious.
Be a leader.

Humility

Leaders teach us “Don’t think too highly of yourself.” How can you improve? We are not perfect. Your success is because of many team members’ contributions. Up your leadership game with humility.

More details: Leadership Principles … Which Ones Contribute to the Best Leaders?

Passion

You only live once. Give it all you got. Be the best so no competitor can keep up. Know your passion and live it. Let it drive you to be the best in your niche.

Stress team and teamwork

Useful skills.

Do what it takes to make your team more effective and productive. Make each team member focus on putting the team before themselves. Remember, whatever your role is, be a servant to the team and make your teammates better.

Push and motivate people

A good leader makes sure their team members never stop looking bad until eventually, they look good because they have improved. Push them to be the best they can be. Be the best motivator you can be.

6 Surprising Secrets to Being Creative With Your Listening Practices

As we begin to come out of the coronavirus pandemic, I think it’s a good time to review an essential leadership skill: listening practices.

active listening skills
Active listening skills.

So often the key to overcoming a difficulty—whether it’s in the workplace or at home—is to stop talking and start listening. I often like to joke that if God had wanted us to talk more than listen, he would have given us two mouths.

Yet few people have mastered the art of listening. Why is this seemingly simple skill so difficult?

Research published by Wendell Johnson in the Harvard Business Review examined one way the listening process goes wrong. Johnson found that because of how our brains work, we think much faster than people talk. As we listen to someone talk, we have time to think of things other than what the person is saying. As a result, we end up listening to a few thoughts of our own in addition to the words we’re hearing spoken. Usually, we can get back to what the person is saying, but sometimes we listen to our own thoughts too long and miss part of the other person’s message.

To sharpen your listening practices, learn to apply these skills:

success skills
These are successful skills.
  • Resist the Temptation to Jump In
    • Sometimes people need time to formulate their thoughts. Particularly if you’re an extrovert, control the impulse to finish people’s sentences or fill silences with your own opinions and ideas.
  • Pay Attention to Body Language
    • Listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Watch a person’s face and body movements. Are they avoiding eye contact? What about the tone of their voice—do you hear confidence, eagerness, or perhaps irritation? Be aware of clues that their silent behaviors provide while being sensitive to your own nonverbal signals. For example, is your body language encouraging someone to continue with a conversation, or silently telling them to stop?
  • Ask Questions
    •  This is not about interrogation or control. Use well-thought-out questions to seek information, opinions, or ideas that will help you understand exactly what is being said. Use open-ended questions to encourage communication; for example, “Can you tell me more about that?” Ask clarifying questions to check for understanding; for example, “When did this happen?” Ask prompting questions to encourage deeper thinking; for example, “What do you think caused this to happen?”
  • Reflect Feelings
    •  Acknowledge any emotions the person is expressing and show them you understand by restating their feelings back to them in a nonjudgmental way. This demonstrates that you not only understand their message but also empathize with their feelings.
  • Paraphrase
    • Again, resist the temptation to respond with your own thoughts. Instead, restate in your own words what the person said. This demonstrates that you heard what they said and assures that you heard them correctly.
  • Summarize
    •  State in a nutshell what was communicated during the entire conversation. Don’t worry about repeating the exact words. What’s important is to capture the main points and general sequence of what was said. This is where you want to reflect the speaker’s conclusion back to them to indicate that you understand.

These practices are not easy—they require time and effort to master. But once you do master them, you’ll build more satisfying relationships. You’ll also avoid a lot of the errors, frustrations, and inefficiencies that come from unclear communication. Think of how our homes, workplaces, nation, and the world could change for the better if we all learned to listen to one another.